To View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xgOOZ0vo_2A
SHOW NOTES
Hi friends and welcome to a fresh new week of the Hope Rescue Podcast. Thank you for joining us, and if it is your first time here make sure you check out our archive of previous episodes, including our very first episode which explains who we are and our vision for the podcast! This week we are going to be discussing some common misconceptions about prayer so stay tuned and you may be surprised about what you learn!
Tim starts by explaining some of the misconceptions of prayer. The first misconception is that when you pray in public you should just "talk to God." Public prayer is public speaking, and when you pray in public it is okay to acknowledge the people who are listening. Even Jesus did that at the grave of Lazarus. In John 11:41-42 it says, “So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” If Jesus was solely speaking to God at this time, he wouldn’t have verbally acknowledged the individuals standing around. Public prayer is different than private prayer, and that is okay.
Another misconception about prayer is that if you pray for something, the Lord will grant your wish like a genie. James 4:3 says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” In other words, if we ask for things with the wrong motive, the Lord will not reward that behavior. “To spend it on your passions” is to selfishly asking for something only to fulfill your desires while disregarding God's will.
Tim continues by discussing “the prayer of faith.” If you have not heard this term before, it comes from a passage in James 5. James 5:13-18 says “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”
Essentially, the prayer of faith indicates that we should pray at all times, in all circumstances. Tim and Kimberly both recount times that the Lord answered their prayers, in the big things and the little things. Tim recalls a time that as a child, they had no food in their home. As a family, they sat at the dinner table and prayed for the Lord to provide food for their family, and someone came and knocked on the door with a meal right after. Kimberly also recalls when she was a single mother trying to take her children to the beach and praying for a parking spot, the Lord always provided. He listens to the big prayers and the little prayers, and we need to remember to pray in all circumstances. Nothing is too big or too little to bring to God. Matthew 10:29-31 says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” God notices even a tiny sparrow that falls to the ground.
Knowing that nothing is too small to bring to God, also know that no prayer is too big for God. Jeremiah 32:17 says, "Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” No problem is too big and no detail too small for God to not notice or care.
Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Kimberly says, “When you align your heart with the Lords, He permeates your heart, your spirit, and your desires for things that He wants for you. In turn, you begin to pray for the things that He actually wanted for you in the first place.” In order to receive the desires of your heart, you must first delight yourself in the Lord. When you delight in the Lord, you will desire intimacy with Him and He will always seek to have a closer relationship with you.
John 14:12 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” He is calling us to do the works of Christ. When you ask for things, it has to glorify God, it has to be for the furtherance of the ministry of Christ, and it has to be in the name of Jesus. Asking for something in the name of Jesus is to ask by His authority and in accordance with His will. When we understand that Jesus in His humanity prayed to the Father saying "not my will but your will be done," it sets the priority of prayer to align with the will of God.
Kimberly wraps up this week’s episode by sharing 3 practical tips for prayer. The first is to start your prayers by thanking God for who He is. Psalm 100:4 says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” The next tip for praying is to tell God how you feel. He can handle our feelings, our anger, our sadness, our failures. Philippians 4:6 says, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” The third tip is to ask the Lord for his guidance. John 16:13 says, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” Kimberly says, “Instead of asking the Lord to get on board with your prayers, acknowledge that He is Lord and let His spirit lead and guide your prayer life.”
Join us next week as we continue the conversation on prayer! We love you guys!
QUOTES
“When you align your heart with the Lords, He permeates your heart, your spirit, and your desires for things that He wants for you. In turn, you begin to pray for the things that He actually wanted for you in the first place.” -Kimberly
“Asking for something in the name of Jesus is to ask by His authority and in accordance with His will.” -Tim
“When we understand that Jesus in His humanity prayed to the Father saying "not my will but your will be done," it sets the priority of prayer to align with the will of God.” -Tim
“Instead of asking the Lord to get on board with your prayers, acknowledge that He is Lord and let His spirit lead and guide your prayer life.” -Kimberly
REFERENCED SCRIPTURE
John 11:41-42 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
James 5:13-18 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Jeremiah 32:17 Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me[e] anything in my name, I will do it.
Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
Philippians 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
